Considering the fact that there are many variations in gold ores, ore bodies and gold recovery processes dictate the general disposal procedures and the design must consider special facilities to provide the most economical disposal method based on accepted safety standards. It is only natural that exists as many different disposal techniques as there are disposal areas. The most common methods employed in the construction of dikes are transporting granular material from an adjacent pit and mechanical segregation of the effluent so that the coarse fraction can form a retaining dike by hydraulic deposition.
The location of the gold treatment plant and surrounding topography has influence on the layout of the tailings disposal facilities. Basically, waste deposits are classified as side hill, cross valley or stockpile deposits. The first ones are very common due to try to employ a design based on gravity flow, without the drawback of river diversion that is usually required for second one. The third one is usually placed on relatively level ground and needs retaining dikes so that the effluent can be sent into the disposal area.When the recovery process is modified or some locations near the disposal area are altered, it is necessary to make some changes or combinations of these three types of disposal systems.
Tailings dam